Venezuela twin earthquakes kill 235 as rescuers search collapsed buildings

Venezuelans searched for survivors under collapsed buildings on Thursday after two powerful earthquakes struck the country’s north on Wednesday evening, killing around 235 people and injuring at least 4,300, officials said. Thousands were also reported missing after the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes, which were among the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century and were felt across the region.

The destruction set off rescue efforts across northern Venezuela, with authorities rushing teams to badly hit areas and countries offering help. The United States also moved to waive some sanctions until October 23 to allow transactions linked to earthquake relief efforts in Venezuela that would otherwise be banned.

Health Minister Carlos Alvarado told state media on Thursday, “Unfortunately we have received around 235 patients who arrive without vital signs or die when they arrive at our health facilities.” Officials said the toll was expected to rise as rescue work continued and many people remained unaccounted for. Buildings were evacuated as far away as Brazil’s Amazon.

In cities across northern Venezuela, residents ran into the streets and searched through debris for missing relatives. The injured were pulled from the rubble covered in dust and blood, including children and animals. State television showed rescues, including a woman trapped under a cement slab, with only one bare foot visible before crews managed to pull her out alive. But outside Caracas, few government search teams were seen.

Dayana Delgado, the mother of three children, questioned where the heavy machinery promised by officials was, saying neighbours were the ones digging through the debris. “I want to know where my child is, if he’s trapped or in a shelter,” she said of her missing eight-year-old son. In another scene, a mother cried and collapsed as the bodies of her three-year-old and 10-year-old children were wrapped in blankets and carried away. Others shouted the names of missing relatives, while some stood in silence.

The coastal region of La Guaira, north of Caracas, was among the worst-hit areas. Venezuela’s main airport, located there, was closed because of damage, making relief efforts harder. Retired schoolteacher Juan Alberto Mendao climbed through wreckage in La Guaira and passed a dead body before spotting a trapped woman signalling for help with her hand. “May God rescue her as quickly as possible,” Mendao said. “When we heard the scream, there was nothing we could do.”

Acting President Delcy Rodrguez called La Guaira a “disaster zone” and said rescue teams were being diverted from other parts of the country. She appealed to businesses to provide heavy construction equipment, saying, “We hope to rescue as many living people as possible.” She said the first rescuers from the Dominican Republic were about to land and more teams from other countries were expected in the coming hours.

Rodrguez declared a state of emergency late on Wednesday and said the government was setting up a USD 200 million reconstruction fund for damaged hospitals and homes. Leaders from Mexico, Qatar, Brazil, Spain, Portugal and Canada promised aid, and shipments were already on the way on Thursday. Assistance included emergency and military personnel, canine and search teams, medical supplies, water purifiers, aircraft and drones.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who spoke to Rodrguez after the quake, said the United States was “immediately” sending search and rescue teams, medical resources and other assistance, though he said the closure of Venezuela’s main airport posed logistical problems. “We have a whole-of-government response. It’ll be big; it’ll be fast; and it’ll be effective,” Rubio said. Offers of aid also came from around the world, including from the United States, which seized Venezuela’s then-president Nicolas Maduro at the beginning of the year in a surprise military operation.

The disaster is the latest challenge for Rodrguez, the former vice president who took office in January after Maduro’s capture. Venezuela has faced economic disorder for more than a decade, and many people reject the legitimacy of the political movement Rodrguez represents.

The US Geological Survey said the first earthquake, of magnitude 7.2, struck west of Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometres west of Caracas, at a depth of 22 kilometres. A minute later, a second 7.5 magnitude quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres, with its epicentre 16 kilometres southwest of Moron. Marcos Ferreira, a geophysicist and researcher at the Geological Survey of Brazil, said the back-to-back shallow quakes increased the damage. “It is as if I am screaming and then someone starts screaming, too. That amplifies the vibration and adds to the potential hazard,” Ferreira said.

Across Venezuela, people spent the night in fear. In La Guaira, Cristian Carreo looked at his burned apartment building leaning dangerously to one side. “I lost everything,” he said. “There are people still inside, I imagine, that couldn’t get out. It’s incredibly devastating.” In central Caracas, hundreds spent the night in parks, parking lots and other open spaces. “We were afraid the buildings would collapse on us,” said Mara Cristina Daz, a 41-year-old janitor. “My mother, my daughter and I were cold. We didn’t sleep a wink.”

Rodrguez said parts of Caracas lost electricity and mobile phone service. Metro services were suspended and natural gas supply was shut off. Classes were cancelled for several days, and the Education Ministry said some school buildings would be used as shelters and donation centres. Families put up missing-person posters with photographs, while others shared handwritten lists of names as they searched for relatives. Venezuelans living abroad also struggled to reach their families. Shortly after United Nations officials in Venezuela urged the government to lift social media restrictions so people could access potentially life-saving information, people in the country were able to use X. The platform had been blocked by Maduro since August 2024 in an effort to curb the flow of information among those who rejected his claim of victory in the July presidential election.

With rescue teams still searching through the rubble, the death toll expected to rise and aid arriving from inside and outside the country, Venezuela is facing a widening humanitarian emergency after one of its strongest earthquakes in over a century.

With PTI Inputs